


Into the Noraverse -ON HOLD-

by jaded_domino



Series: Nora Universe [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 17 year old Nora, Adventure, Aged-up steven universe but it's a girl, Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Gem Stuff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No TARDIS, Nora Universe - Freeform, Nora's Universe, Spin Off, Steven AUniverse, Steven Universe - Freeform, Steven has a sister, Steven's sister, Time Travel, Time Travel Au but different, greg is a good dad who is trying his best, the gems are good moms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaded_domino/pseuds/jaded_domino
Summary: A twist on the incredible story "Into the Universe" by flynnaw00As the story goes,Steven Universe meets himself from the future. He came here on accident, but now that he's here, he's changing everything and fixing problems before they can be made.Basically Steven Universe and his future self bond and change the timeline.But what if things were to happen a little more...differently? What if it was instead 17 year old Nora who came to this alternate universe? How will Steven react to having a sister? More importantly...𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦?
Relationships: Amethyst & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Garnet & Steven Universe, Garnet/Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe), Pearl & Steven Universe, Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Steven universe - Relationship
Series: Nora Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978885
Comments: 9
Kudos: 22





	1. Reformed - Take 2

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Into the Universe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22139770) by [flynnaw00](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flynnaw00/pseuds/flynnaw00). 



“Sniffling Croissant! You really know me, internet.” Steven chuckled. He looked up from his phone. “Hey, guys!”

His dad didn’t look up from his van, wrenching the engine. “Yeah, Steven?”

“You guys should take this online quiz I found! It tells you.. What..” He trailed off as Pearl grabbed a tool from beside him. He got up from his tire seat, getting tired of sitting on it. “It um- tells you what character you are from crying breakfast friends!!”

“Eh.. why?” Pearl asked, quirking a brow.

“It’s just fun to see yourself as a cartoon character! Like weeping egg cup, who’s neurotic and uptight.. Or pining Grapefruit, the sensitive older one who wishes he was a better role model!” 

Greg smiled weakly. “Uh- maybe we can do that thing after we fix the van..”

Steven sighed as he watched his guardians go back to fixing the van. “Okay..” He turned around, heading back to the temple. “I’ll just find someone else!”

Steven ran up to the steps and opened the door, looking around for Garnet or Amethyst. He was sure they’d at least humor him. He wanted to know what they got!

“Hey, Steven, is there any more engine oil? I need it for this sandwich.”

Steven frowned.

“Uh.. I think that’s for cars.”

“Well, is there any more of it?”

Steven frowned. Could gems eat engine oil? Could he ?

“Uh.” He focused on their conversation. “Dad’s probably got some outside.. But! Oh! You gotta take this online quiz!” He held up the phone proudly. “Which Crying Breakfast friend are you?”

Amethyst sat down. “That show’s.. Really weird. Who wants to watch a show about people crying?”

Steven whined, feelings hurt. “I do!”

“Okay, okay! What’s the first question?”

Steven smiled, looking down at his phone to read off the questions. He went through each one, and each one Amethyst answered the opposite of what he thought she would say. He’d only lived with Amethyst for a few years, but he was sure she wasn’t an uptight overthinker..

After the fourth question, she gave up.

“I’m bored.” She smirked, hopping off of her stool. Steven whined and watched her start to walk towards the temple door.

“Wait!” He called. “I have loads more probing personal questions to--”

Suddenly, he heard a loud, shimmering, swirling, noise behind him. Both him and Amethyst turned around and watched as a young teenage girl adorned in a pink hoodie with a large white star on the front fell out of a blue portal face first, slamming into the floor with a thud and groaning.

“Whoa..” Amethyst gaped, grabbing her whip out of her gem. “What the heck..?”

Steven blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes. “Um.. is.. Is this normal? What’s..”

The teenager started to slowly get up and Steven backed up behind Amethyst, wishing he could summon his shield right now. He was a bit better at it than before, but it was still a very precise thing. 

“Nngh..” The teen sat up, rubbing her face and picking out a few splinters. Steven gasped softly. She kinda looked like him..well, besides the massive ponytail.

“Hey!” Amethyst yelled, gripping her whip harder. The teen met her eyes and blinked a few times.

“Oh! Uh.. hey, Amethyst.. Where-Where did you come from? I thought you were with Peri-.” She squinted. “Why are you.. Dressed like that?”

“What? Dude, how do you know me? Also, rude! I look great!” Amethyst growled.

“How do- what?? We’re family? I’ve lived with you for the past-” She chuckled awkwardly and got up. “Most of my life, actually."

“Family..?” Amethyst frowned. “I don’t.. Know you.”

Steven peeked out from behind Amethyst. Was.. this like.. His sister? A weird sister he had no idea he had..?

The teen looked hurt. “Amethyst.. I- uh..” They met eyes.

Steven waved nervously. Amethyst pushed him behind her.

The teen paled. Glancing around the room, something seemed to click in her eyes. "The temple looks..." she trailed off. Steven furrowed his brows in confusion. 

How did she know what the temple was? What did it look like?

"Oh. Oh-Oh no- A-amethyst, I think I'm in the past!"

“Stop saying things that don’t make sense!!”

“I’m Nora Universe! From the future! I was messing with your time thing and then.. I guess I’m here!” She looked around on the floor for something. Steven gasped and jumped out from behind Amethyst. “You’re my...You're my sister?! from the future?? Like.. like with the Time Glass?”

“Yes! I am! From the future, that is."

Amethyst put away her whip and facepalmed. “Oh, man, don’t tell me there’s more of you..”

Nora looked behind the kitchen island. “No, no. Only me. Do you see that janky time glass you picked up? Do you have it?”

“Uh.. Yeah. I have it..” Amethyst scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably. “Man, this is so weird.. Why.. are you even here?”

“Yeah!” Steven chimed in. “Doesn’t.. Trying to change time stuff make things worse?"

Nora frowned. “Uh. This was an accident, kid. ”

“Oh.”

Amethyst sighed. “Whatever.. You two can figure this out.. I’m gonna go to my room.” She turned around. Steven frowned. “Wait! You gotta take the quiz!”

Her room opened up, Garnet standing inside. Amethyst gasped, offended. “Garnet!! What are you doing in my room!?”

“I saw a corrupted gem-”

The door closed.

Steven looked up at Nora.

“So.. um..” Steven bit his lip. “Hi.”

“Hey. So, uh...who are you, exactly?"

Steven gasped. She didn't know?? He had to tell her! "I'm Steven Universe! You're standing in my house!"

“...." She gaped. "St-Steven? From the tape Rose left?" She asked in astonishment. "Yeah! And you're Nora, right?" She nodded.

"Then that makes you my sister!" He looked up at her, stars in his eyes. She cracked a small smile down at him, ruffling his hair. "I guess it does!" She responded. 

“Uh.. hey! You- uh.. Wanna take this online quiz?”

“Hm? Sure. What's it about?" She asked, sitting down on the couch as Steven hopped up beside her. "It's a personality quiz! It tells you whci CBF character you are!" He said cheerfully. "CBF..?" she trailed off. Steven's eyes widened. Did she not know??? Did she never watch it growing up?? "Crying Breakfast Friends!! It's a super deep show about feelings!" He responded.

Her eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! Yeah, I used to watch that all the time! What's the first question?" She asked. As they spent a few minutes on the quiz, Steven frowned at the results. "Oh boy..You got Glum Glass? That's pretty sad. Are you okay?" He asked, glancing up at her. Nora's eyes widened for a moment. "Oh-No it's fine! Probably just a mix-up! Haha!" she got up quickly, glancing around the room nervously. Steven frowned. Something was up. "Do-Would you like to retake it?" He finally asked. "

"Mm..No, I need to find that hour-glass."

“Oh! Okay.. Can.. I help you find it?”

“Sure. C’mon.”

Steven smiled and walked behind her as they entered Amethyst's room. He felt a little weird just carrying on like this when Nora just popped randomly into their living room. But.. he’s seen weirder. There was no use making a big deal out of it.

“--Why don’t you just let me look for it?” Amethyst asked, her voice coming in as they entered the room. “Beca-”

“Hey, guys?”

Amethyst turned around and huffed. “Oh, great, what do you want, future girl?”

Garnet turned and faced Nora, paling. “Uhhhhhh..”

“...Hi, Garnet.” Nora said sheepishly. “I’m.. Nora. From the future. I’m just trying to get home.. Sorry, I didn't mean to drop in.”

Garnet was silent for a few seconds before shaking her head to clear it then nodding. “Uh. Right...Rose's..Daughter. O-okay.. You mean.. with the.. Time glass?”

“Yeah. I need Amethyst’s one to get home. Mind if I tag along to get it? Again, I'm sorry. Didn't want to cause any trouble.."

“No problem. We’ll need help finding The Slinker.”

“You guys saw The Slinker??” Steven gasped. Amethyst groaned. “Ugh, I thought we weren’t gonna call it that?”

“Yes, we did. But now it’s undeniable that Steven’s name stuck. Let’s go.”

Garnet walked ahead of them, into the depths of Amethyst’s room. Amethyst rolled her eyes, following behind. Then it was himself and Nora at the end of the pack.

\--

The group came to a halt as Garnet lifted up a massive pile of junk, revealing a hole underneath. Steven hummed. “How long’s this thing been in here?”

Ignoring his question, Amethyst squealed and picked up a gas mask. “Look, Steven!” She grinned, covering her face and breathing through it to make the tube wiggle. “I’m a pachyderm!”

Steven laughed.

“Oh! And there’s a prize inside!” She smiled, pulling out a human skull from inside it. Steven gasped.

“Shh!” Garnet hissed. “Keep quiet.”

Amethyst groaned. They kept walking. 

“Hey, Amethyst?” Nora called. Amethyst looked back. “What?”

“Do you know where your-”

“My janky time thing? No, I don’t. Do I look organized to you?”

Nora frowned. “..Sorry."

“Yeah, well, we’re trying to find the Slinker right now, so shush. You can look for it later or something.”

Nora groaned and caught up to the group, still looking around the massive piles of junk. Steven wanted to tell her he’d never find it in this mess, but decided against it, thinking that would be too negative. 

He gasped. That reminded him of Split Milk! Always negative..

“Hey! Amethyst! Wanna continue the quiz?”

“Ugh, Steven, I don’t even watch that show.”

“Awe, c’mon!”

“Why don’t you just ask..” Amethyst hummed and then gasped. “Oh! Ask Nora! She watches it!”

“What?” Nora looked up at the mention of her name. Steven grinned. “But she already took it! Man, I can't wait to see how far the show has progressed when I'm...uh..How old are you again?”

“Seventeen.”

“Whoa! You’re super old!”

“I’m.. not that old-”

“Yeah, you are!” Amethyst snorted.

Nora rolled her eyes again. Steven squinted. Was that a teenage thing?

“Uh, let me just reset the quiz for you! You needed to retake it anyways!” He reloaded the page and clicked on “Start”

“Okay, so.. Do you ever act without thinking?”

She hummed in thought. “Uh.. maybe a bit.”

“Are you afraid of taking risks and trying new things?”

“Yes.”

The Slinker chattered in the distance, drawing the attention of all four of them.

“There!” Garnet hissed, jumping forward and then blasting her gauntlets off of her hands towards a pile of trash. It exploded on impact and Garnet came over to inspect her damage. Steven and Nora ran behind Amethyst as they tried to catch up to Garnet.

“Whoa, Mama! Did you get it?!” Amethyst yelled. 

“No.” Garnet replied.

Amethyst jumped down the hole, digging around in the trash.

“Aw, man.. I think my-”

Wh-oh, hey!!” Nora gasped. She jumped into the trash and started to fling some junk away, digging deeper.

“HEY!! BE CAREFUL WITH MY JUNK!” Amethyst yelled. Nora winced. "Sorr-" she cut off, staring in horror.

“... The time glass.” She picked it up, broken into five pieces with shards everywhere. “It’s broken..”

“Oh, no.” Steven frowned. “Does.. does that mean you’re stuck here..?”

Nora looked back down at the glass. "I-I don't know.."

“Oh, dude..” Amethyst frowned, reaching out a hand to comfort her.

“There might be a way to repair it.” Garnet said. Steven looked up at her. “Really??”  
“Yes.. there is a certain adhesive we can use to reattach the glass back together.”

"Where is it, Garnet?" Nora asked.

“I don’t know. I think Pearl knows, though. For now, we bubble the glass.” She stepped forward, bubbling all shards she could find. Dawson helped by pointing out glass. Steven hummed. He hoped that they found that adhesive soon..

Amethyst huffed and laid back. “God, this is so weird and boring .. We haven’t even seen i- wh-” She looked down as a long black tendril wrapped around her leg. She screamed, being pulled under the junk then poofed.

Steven watched in horror. He rushed over to her gem and gasped. “Amethyst got poofed!!”

“Slinker!” Garnet said, looking around. 

Steven walked over to the gem and picked it up, feeling a familiar sadness in his heart. He hated seeing the gems get hurt like that.. At least this time he knew she was coming back.. It still hurt. What if.. What if she didn’t come back? What if that was only Pearl..? Oh, Pearl.. Amethyst might not be back for weeks! Maybe longer..

He cradled her close and walked over to Garnet, holding the gem out. “G-g-g-garnet..?”

“Steven, remember-- our bodies are only an illusion. Amethyst will be fine.”  
“Yeah, don't worry. She'll be okay.” Nora interjected, patting Steven’s head timidly. Steven appreciated the gesture. “But.. Pearl took two whole weeks to come back!” He said to Garnet. “And..” He sniffled. “I already miss Amethyst so much!!”

“She’ll be back soon.” Nora said.

Steven frowned. “How- how do you know?”

Nora giggled. "I've been through this before, bro. Look!" she said, pointing to the violet gem in his arms.

He felt the gem warm up in his hands and float off. Steven gasped and watched as Amethyst’s body warped into her new form in the sky. He beamed. Nora was right!

She appeared, long hair covering her body before she fell to the ground.

“Amethyst’s back! Amethyst’s back!” He giggled, hugging her tightly. 

“Ugh.” She groaned, pushing him away with her newly grown feet in place of her arms. “Huh..?”

Steven laughed. “Looks like you.. Grew a few feet since I last saw you!”

“That was fast.” Garnet deadpanned, walking up behind them. “Even for you.”

Nora looked off to the side, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

“Eh!” Amethyst replied, blushing. “It’s.. no big deal! I don’t wanna keep my biggest fan waiting!” She stood on her leg arms, giving Steven a look. Steven laughed. 

They goofed off for a bit before returning to the hunt. She cartwheeled off and Steven tried to do the same, but couldn’t. He caught Nora out of the corner of his eye and hummed. “Hey.. Nora!"

“Huh?” She turned around.

“Can you make your arms legs like Amethyst did?”

“Mm..I could, why?"

“Do it!!” Steven grinned. “Oh, oh! Wait! Show me how to do it!”

Garnet huffed and left. Nora trailed weakly behind. Steven followed.

“I.. I don't know, bud."

“C’mon!!”

“HEY!! OVER HERE!!” Amethyst shouted from across the cave. Steven frowned. He wanted to shapeshift..

They went into the tunnel. Steven looked over Amethyst’s form again and smiled.

“Your new form is really interesting.”

“Thanks, Steven.”

“I didn’t even know you could come back this different!”

“Thanks, Steven.”

“So.. why’d you choose to have four legs?”

“Because I like walking!” Amethyst growled.

“Wow, I want four legs!” He said to Garnet. Maybe she could help him shapeshift!

“No, you don’t. Amethyst rushed her regeneration. She should’ve taken her time.”

“Like Pearl?”

Nora scrunched up in the corner.

“Yes, Pearl put a bit more.. Thought. Into how she came back.” Garnet affirmed. 

“Pearl, Pearl, Pearl! You know I can hear you!! I’m sorry I’m not like Pearl with her fancy form! And her clean room with no monsters in it!”

“Amethyst, calm down.. You’re fine the way you are..” Nora mumbled. Amethyst narrowed her eyes at her, offended. 

The slinker crashed down into the tunnel, taking Amethyst with it. Steven ran over to the hole, calling down. “Amethyst??”

They hopped down and Steven saw her gem, running over. “She got poofed again!”

“This is a good opportunity for her. Now, she can make a better form.”

\----

“Didn’t ANYONE tell nature how I want it to look??”

Steven laughed. 

“Amethyst, stop it please.” Nora piped in. “This isn’t funny. Take your regeneration seriously.”

Amethyst stared at her, then scoffed. “I.. uh.. I take everything seriously!” She said in her Pearl accent, twirling around. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Nora frowned. “Because you’re--Ugh, nevermind." She'd never really gotten along with Amethyst, especially after the Rose incident..

Steven looked up at Nora. “...”

A silence shrouded the cave. Nora looked away. “Um.. Sorry.”

“Yeah.” Amethyst huffed. “Don’t psycho-analyze me, Nora.”

Steven looked between them. Did.. did Nora know something he didn’t? That was so weird and.. Cryptic.

“She’s right, you know.” Garnet said after a moment. “This isn’t a good choice for your form.”

Amethyst grit her teeth. “Ugh! Can’t you people take a joke?”

“It isn’t funny.”

\----

“Yo Ste-man! My seams straight?”

Steven stared, hugging Garnet’s leg harder. The veins bulging out of her skin disturbed him. Greatly.

“D-does that new form.. Hurt you?”

Amethyst furrowed her brows, looking to the side in confusion then back at him. “...No.”

“Uh.. Hey, Nora!!” Amethyst grinned. “How about this? This a good form? ‘Cause I feel great !”

“Amethyst..” Nora frowned, taking a step forward. “Please.. Take this seriously.. If you feel bad, we can talk about this."

“What??” Amethyst backed up.

“I know you feel bad right now.. We can talk, later, if you want. That’s.. That’s all I'm saying. You don’t have to be.. Different. You’re fine the way you.. You are, okay?”

Amethyst recoiled, face heating up. “Wh- d-don’t-You can't pretend you know how I feel!!"

Nora held her hands up in surrender and backed off. Steven stared at her. “Nora.. What’s.. Going on? Do you know?”

“Yeah.” She murmured quietly.

“No you don’t!” Amethyst yelled. “You don’t know NOTHING about me!! NONE of you do!! Let’s just.. GET THIS OVER WITH!!”

Steven cowered behind Garnet’s leg as she ran off and punched up the crystals in the cave, roaring like an animal. Nora looked away.

Garnet glanced at her before running off. Steven came after her.

\----

Steven caught her gem. He sighed and looked up at Nora

“Is.. she gonna be okay?”

Nora hesitated. “She will be.”

Garnet ruffled up his hair in agreement. Steven smiled. 

They headed out of Amethyst’s room, opening the door. Inside, Pearl was making lunch for Steven. Steven opened his mouth to say something, but then realized the stranger beside him wasn’t familiar to Pearl. Before he could think of what to say, she looked up.

“Oh, hey, St-”

Her and Nora met eyes.

“.... Who.. who is that.” Pearl pointed shakily.

Nora froze. Turning around, she shakily waved at Pearl. Garnet and Steven watched on, with interest. 

"H-Hey Pearl. I'm Nora. Nora Universe." She said, watching as the gem's eyes widened drastically. 

“Pearl.” Garnet said, stepping forward and grasping Nora on the shoulder. “This is Nora. From a future, alternate timeline. She accidentally travelled here with the timepiece that Amethyst picked out a while ago.”

Steven nodded along with Garnet. 

Pearl nodded slowly. “Ah.. oh.. Oh no.. are there more of you..?”

“No.” Nora said. “Just me this time. Hehe.”

“Oh, thank stars..” Pearl sighed. “I’m not sure I could handle that again.. Uh.. well..I didn't know there was a world where Rose ended up having Nora.."

“Okaay..” Pearl looked her up and down. “I like the jacket.”

“Thanks.”

“Wait.” Pearl turned off the stove. “Where’s Amethyst?”

Steven held out her gem. “She got poofed by the slinker.”

“I knew that thing was real!!” Pearl asserted. “When Amethyst gets back, we have to go find it.”

\----

“Welcome back!” Steven hugged her tightly.

“Well done, Amethyst!” Pearl joined.

“Knock it off!” Amethyst chided. Garnet hugged her and she grunted. “We gotta go find the slinker!”

“No! It’s hug time.”

“Ugh.. this is so dumb..” Amethyst blushed, looking off to the side.

Steven opened his eyes to look up at her, but caught them on Nora instead. She was leaning against the kitchen island, looking out the window sadly. Steven frowned. “Hey.. it’s hug time.. That means you, too, future sis.”

The gems looked up at her. Nora snapped to their attention. “Uh.” She blushed. “I'm not...much of a hugger.” 

Nora looked away, unsure. Garnet smirked and extended her arm, yanking her in. Nora gasped, collecting herself before laughing and joining the hug pile.


	2. Chapter 2

“So, did you guys find anything?” Nora asked. The Crystal Gems turned around, slightly unnerved by the voice. “Um.. well..” Pearl started. “We did find some good shards of the time pieces that could work.. But we need to go somewhere else to get a special adhesive.”

“Oh, cool!” Steven chimed in. “Can we come with?”

“It’s at the bottom of the ocean.” Garnet said. Steven frowned.

"Ah." Nora chuckled at the confused expressions. "We could just bubble our heads." 

The Crystal Gems stared at her, before Garnet slowly nodded. “Yes. You could.. And we do have some iron boots.. Those will help.”

“You can’t be serious.” Pearl scoffed.

“Please!!” Steven begged. “You promised me a mission today..” He sniffled, giving them puppy dog eyes. Pearl turned away and crossed her arms. “Well, I don’t approve of it, but if Garnet says it’s okay.. Then I suppose it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah!! Let’s go to the bottom of the ocean, Steven!” Amethyst said, hopping down from the counter. “Just like with that Connie girl~!”

Steven blushed, he regretted telling her about that. “Amethyst..”

“Oh! Wait!” Amethyst turned towards Future Steven. “How’s Connie in the future? Are you two married?~” 

“Amethyst!!” Steven shoved her lightly. “Stop it!!”

Nora coughed, looking away. "Actually, I don't know a Connie." She said. Steven's eyes widened. Why didn't she know Connie?? Did they never meet? Did he..did he lose his best   
friend?? 

"WHAT?? How come??" he asked, panicking. 

"Uhh.." Nora heasitated. "Can I see a picture?" Steven nodded abruptly, pulling out his phone. He swiped through a few pictures, before finally stopping and turning the phone to Nora. 

Nora stared at the girl, long dark hair and skin, glasses and a sunhat. She smiled fondly. 

"I think I know who you're talking about." She said. Steven sighed in relief. "So you do know Connie?" He confirmed. Nora, keeping the smile on her face, shook her head.

"Actually, back home, his name is Connor." 

Steven had stars in his eyes. "That's so cool!! There's a boy version of Connie?" 

Nora nodded, humming slightly. 

Amethyst chuckled, sending a suggestive wink at Nora, causing her to blush furiously. "OoOoOOoo! Someone's got a cruuush~" The purple gem teased. 

"...Maybe.." Nora looked away.

Amethyst gasped. Steven’s eyes widened and he turned to him. “R..really..? Me and Connie..?” He blushed, imagining her in a wedding dress. Gosh, she’d be so pretty..

“I said maybe, not yes.” Nora winked. Steven felt shame burn in his stomach. Of course. Gosh, he was so stupid. As if he’d ever be with Connie.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Garnet said, walking towards the warp. Nora followed close behind and Steven caught up with them. “Wait, you two!” Pearl called out. “You forgot your swimming gear..”

Her gem glowed and she pulled out two pairs of iron boots and some blue wetsuits. “Here.”

“Why do you have that in your gem?” Steven asked, grabbing the smaller suit.

“Well.. You can never be over prepared.” Pearl said. 

Amethyst snorted. “Yeah, you can. You have, like, a million things in there.”

Nora went to the bathroom to change, lugging the heavy iron boots behind her. Steven just grabbed his own stuff and changed behind the counter, tuning out Pearl and Amethyst’s bickering. Eventually, Nora and Steven were changed, Nora bubbled both of their heads, and they got on the warp pad. 

Steven bounced off as they warped, floating around and giggling. Everyone ignored him except for Amethyst and Nora. While in the warp stream Garnet took note of Nora's oddly graceful stance.

If she really was Steven, well, Nora, then Garnet had a hard time believing it.

When Steven first started using the warp pad, he would have trouble standing and would frequently float away. Nora was the complete opposite, she stood poised and elegant in the warp stream.  
When Nora noticed her stares she flushed and looked away.

Steven giggled, enjoying himself until he was suddenly deep underwater and pulled to the wet sad below him. Garnet look a quick look at her surroundings before heading off East, everyone else trailing behind her. Steven was last in the group, looking around at the ocean deep.

“Whoa..”

It was so beautiful to him. Everything was coated in a nice, relaxing, wavy, blue. Bright and happy coral sprung up from shiny rocks and fish swam by peacefully, grouping together and splitting apart. Jellyfish floated by, glowing and lighting up the water. Everything moved slower here, more relaxed.. Like they didn’t have a care in the world..

“Hey, Steven.” 

Steven looked up to Nora. “Huh?”

“You're a little distracted, bud. Try to keep up, okay?”

Steven frowned. “Sorry.. It’s just really pretty down here..”

She blinked, then looked around. “..Yeah. It is, isn't it?” She smiled, eyes shining a little as she watched an anemone pulse and glow. “But, um.” She shook his head, focusing. “We need to stay with the others.” 

She held her hand out. Steven took it and gave it a small squeeze. 

“Maybe later we can just.. Sit down here? Watching everything?” Steven asked. 

Nora smiled. "C'mon bud."

Steven grinned and nodded, leaping to catch up to the Crystal Gems, who were waiting up ahead. Nora went with, a small smile staying on her face.

“This is it.” Garnet said, stepping inside the broken down gem structure. The walls were silver, with diamond shaped pink lights embedded in the walls. Some were broken, cracks going up and down their symbol. The structure itself was dome shaped, with corridors leading off to different domes. In the middle of the main room, the one they were currently in, was a hand control panel with four diamonds on it. Already, nature had started to take back the place- algae growing over the broken tiles and fish seaweed growing between the cracks. 

“So.. what exactly are we looking for?” Nora asked. 

“An adhesive. It should be contained in something.. Last I remember, it should look pink.” Pearl said.

She nodded. “Okay. I’ll start searching.” He walked to one of the corridors. Steven followed close behind, scared of being left alone. 

“Hey!!” Amethyst called. Nora stopped and turned around. “Huh?”

“Where do you think you’re going!? I’m coming with!!”

“Um.. okay!” Nora called, waiting as she walked over to them. “Dude, don’t just go wandering off.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “I’m not a kid anymore, Amethyst. I can take care of myself.”

Amethyst groaned. “Let’s go already!!”

Nora frowned confusedly at her before walking down the corridor. The hallway broke in the middle, leaving it open to the rest of the ocean. Tiles and tubes laid on the floor, embedded in the sand or too heavy to float to the surface. Nora and Amethyst ignored them, focused solely on heading to the other end of the hallway, which connected to the dome. 

Steven, meanwhile, was looking at the broken tiles and tubes. Maybe the adhesive was under here somewhere..? Why wouldn’t it be?

He bent down, fingers inches from the broken glass.

“Steven!!” Nora squawked. Steven bolted upright. “Huh??”

“Oh my stars are you doing?!” Nora walked over, leaning down and looking at the tile. “Don’t touch broken glass! You could hurt yourself!”

“Um.. Sorry..” Steven blushed, looking away. 

Nora opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by loud snickering. 

“What’s so funny?” She placed her hands on her hips and turned to Amethyst. Amethyst laughed harder. “Dude!! You sound just like Pearl!”

“What?!” Nora gasped, putting a hand to her chest in offence. “I do not!”

“You do!!”

She turned to Steven for help. Steven shrugged. She did sound like Pearl..

Nora gaped and hung her head in defeat. “No…”

Amethyst slapped her back and snorted. “Don’t worry, dude. You may sound like Pearl, but at least you don’t look like her!!” 

She burst into laughter at her own joke and Nora rolled her eyes and smiled. “I guess so.” 

Nora and Amethyst turned away, heading back on their course to the dome. Steven followed close behind, staring off at the fish.

“Oh, shoot, dude!!” Amethyst shouted out. “I think that’s it!”

Steven peeked out from behind Nora’s leg to where she was pointing. 

In the middle of the giant dome was a nearly perfectly preserved glass case with stiff pink goop inside. It shimmered and glowed, occasionally sticking itself to the sides of the tube, then peeling off slowly. Nora grinned. “Great! I’ll just grab the tube and-”

“Whoa, dude.” Amethyst grabbed her arm. “We don’t know how to handle that thing. I’ll get Garnet, you stay here with Little Ste-man.”

She frowned. “But-”

“But nothing!! Stay put or I’ll bite you.” She chomped her teeth together and then walked off. Nora and sat down, looking off in the distance. Steven frowned and looked down, kicking up a pebble and trying to let the sounds of the ocean calm him.

The ground beneath them started to shake.

“W- what’s going on??” Steven whined, getting up unsteadily. Nora stood, spiked bubbles forming around her fists. “I don’t know. Possibly a corrupted gem.” She looked around.

A deep, guttural, roar sounded from the depths of the base, echoing around them. Glass broke off and flew away, silver framing crashed down inches from Steven’s feet. He squeaked and flinched away. 

“N-nora!” He cried out. “I’m scared! W- we’re too heavy to move fast!”

“We don’t have to move fast, we just have to beat it.” Nora said, eyebrows drawn together and eyes sharp. “Come close to me. I’ll protect you.”

Steven stomped over, clutching Nora’s jacket. Stars, he felt so useless.. Hiding behind her like a scared little kid-

Another roar, closer this time. Steven whimpered. He felt a hand fluff up his hair comfortingly.

“Steven!!” Pearl called out, rushing over. “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay! We need to get that adhesive and run!!”

“Okay.” Nora nodded. “You handle the adhesive, I’ll get the monster.”

“On your own?? That’s crazy!!” Amethyst shouted.

ROOOOOOARRRRR

Speeding around the corner, crashing into the dome and shattering the remaining hallway, was a gigantic corrupted beast. It had tens of rows of teeth, decorated with fish’s blood and crust. It’s body was long like an eel and it’s face was that of an anglerfish. From the inside of its mouth hung down the lure, it’s bright red gem on the end. Steven screamed, his bubble forming around his body. Nora flinched.

“Crystal Gems! Ready your weapons!” Garnet cried out. Everyone summoned their weapons, then launched themselves at it. Pearl came from underneath, trying to stab it’s slim body. Amethyst flung her whips at it, scratching the side of its face, but since they were underwater, they didn’t have enough snap to tangle it. Then Garnet and Nora, fists ready, launched themselves directly at the beast. Steven could only watch in awe as Nora maneuvered her way around the beast, summoning her shield like it was nothing and flinging shield after shield into its lure to hopefully snap it and free the gem inside. 

Garnet, quicker than her, went inside the mouth and punched the tongue, then launched out before it could swallow her whole. Together, they worked amazingly- Nora weakening it and Garnet keeping it distracted. Pearl and Amethyst were still for a moment, watching Nora in amazement. Then they went back to fighting.

Nora summoned her shield once again and flung it at the thin lure, cutting directly through. The creature cried out in pain, screaming and shattering all the glass in the dome before poofing, it’s gem slowly floating down. Garnet bubbled and sent it off. They regrouped at the sea floor, his family crowding Nora and cheering for her.

“Great job, Nora!” Pearl chimed. 

“Yeah!! You were a beast!!” Amethyst said, hugging her tightly. 

Garnet ruffled her hair and gave her a thumbs up, impressed. Nora blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Aw, thanks guys.”

Steven watched on, clutching his shirt.

\- - -

The trip home was quiet. They warped back into the house, took off their boots and suits, then took turns taking a shower to clean off then get redressed. By then, the sky outside was nearly dark.

“Well, it seems you two should turn in for the night.” Pearl said. 

“What??” Nora frowned. “But I have to go back!”

“Yes, but we don’t have the time sphere ready yet. We still need to attach the adhesive and then test it, which will probably take all night. So, in the meantime, you should rest.

Nora sighed. “Fine.”

Pearl squinted then gave her a tight smile, walking off into the temple with the rest of the gems.

Now it was just Nora and Steven.

Steven looked up at Nora. Nora was looking back.

They were silent.

“... Um.” Steven finally broke their gaze. “I.. I’m gonna head to bed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She said. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Do.. you um.. Want my PJs?”

“They’re probably too small.”

“Right.” Steven nodded, heading up the stairs. Nora laid down on the couch, pulling an extra blanket over himself and pulling out his phone.  
Steven changed into his PJs and got into bed, shutting his eyes and falling asleep.

…

**Author's Note:**

> Heyoo! I know this seemed too similar to the original fic, but I promise it changes as it goes on! This isn't a copy or a rewording, and Nora does a lot of stuff Twoie doesn't! I figured she wouldn't be an exact replica of Twoie/Steven, she'd have her own persona!
> 
> Thanks for reading~! 
> 
> domii


End file.
